Spoiler alert; this is a cracking album. We haven’t reached the end of January yet and we’ve got the first five-star album. Malcolm MacWatt, with a few guest artists, has created a rounded and inspired piece of work that links Scottish and American music, historical and contemporary themes and political ideas spanning generations and centuries. Not only has Malcolm fused all of these ingredients to create a melodic and very thought-provoking album, he’s also tapped in to my own heritage as a Scottish expat who’s spent decades living in England while hanging on to those Celtic roots. It’s a powerful thing when an artist’s work hits you on musical and lyrical levels, even more so when it hits you on a personal level.

Malcolm’s upbringing as mixed-race Scottish in the Highlands followed by a spell working offshore in the oil industry. That kind of background, combined with a radical and inquiring spirit has led to some strong environmental, republican (not in the American sense) and nationalist (not in the jingoist Little England sense) views that permeate the album.

The opening two songs, the ‘Nebraska’-tinged ‘Strong is the North Wind’ and the triple-time ‘The Church and the Crown’ set the political tone for the album; the first is an exhortation to use the hard-earned right to vote, while the second criticises the power wielded by church and crown to subdue the masses and mentions historical figures Wat Tyler and John Ball. The songs ‘She Told Me Not to Go’ and ‘Heather and Honey’ both draw strong historical parallels with events that happened around two hundred years ago, the first linking the exploitation of nature and the environmental damage caused by factory whaling with similar problems caused by offshore oil drilling today. The second draws a straight line between The Highland Clearances and the slightly softer but still corrosive current approach of converting estates into playgrounds and hunting grounds for the rich and famous while forcing workers off the land and into the cities.

The title song with its traditional folk backing and spoken vocal tells another story of imperialism involving the wartime use of the Scottish island Gruinard as a testing site for anthrax as a chemical weapon before condemning it, supposedly forever a contaminated island before the Dark Harvest commandos intervened to bring the issue into the spotlight and force a clear-up.

And beyond this selection, the great songs keep coming. The highly personal and autobiographical ‘Empire in Me’ and ‘Semi-Scotsman’ and the stories of Scots helping to build the young America (‘Out on the Western Plain’ and ‘Buffalo Thunder’). Fourteen songs and every one a little classic from a gifted songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. It’s political, but Malcolm’s absolutely right in identifying current and historical injustice and placing it in the spotlight. You really need to listen to ‘Dark Harvest’; it’s packed with powerful melodies, great playing and lovely harmonies that all serve as vehicles for some disturbing truths.

‘Dark Harvest’ is out now on Need to Know Music (NTKBBV2024MM).

Here’s the video for the title track:

I may have mentioned that I love a challenge, but here’s one that I wasn’t expecting. I’ve never reviewed a triple album (bought a few in the vinyl era). Before The Clash released ‘Sandinista!’, the triple album was mainly a prog phenomenon with bands like Yes and Emerson, Lake and Palmer using the format for extended instrumental workouts. The Clash brought it all back to basics with a classic six songs per side over six sides. Jeb Barry’s Pawn Shop Saints have taken the Clash’s value for money concept even further with fifteen tracks per album – the maths is easy, it’s forty-five songs. Sensibly enough, it’s a digital-only release to download or stream.

The project started just after 2023’s ‘Weeds’ album was completed and pulls together songs that were written over a period of twenty years or so. ’45 American Lies’ is a bit of a tidy-up operation; you have a stack of forty-five songs that you’ve gathered over the years that didn’t quite fit in on any previous albums but you think they have value so why not record them and get them all out there at the same time. The recording process was all about getting the songs recorded with a maximum of speed and a minimum of studio trickery. There’s a lot of material here and the common factors are Jeb Barry’s classic songwriting and his high lonesome voice. He’s not expecting everyone to like every song on the album (do you know anyone who likes every song on ‘Sandinista!’?), but he’s quite happy if you dip in and find a couple that you like from the smorgasbord on offer.

For what it’s worth, my favourites after a couple of listens (and that could easily change after another listen)  are ‘Liverpool’, a story of everyday male sexual jealousy, ‘Cottonwood’ and ‘Repo Man’ on the familiar Jeb Barry theme of the destruction of rural communities and ‘Heading to Parchman’, the story of a doomed relationship that culminates in twenty to life in Mississippi State Penitentiary, which has a rich history in popular song, including Hannah Aldridge’s 2014 classic, ‘Parchman’.

It’s a bit of a long shift listening to the whole piece, but if you like quality Americana, then you’ll find something for you in this collection.

’45 American Lies’ is out now on Dollyrocker Records.

Here’s an acoustic video of ‘Cottonwood’:

We like to get a Northern perspective from Steve but this time he’s raising some really important issues about hygiene that apply across the country. OK, it’s not a celebration of 2023, but it’s important and without getting too political, it’s all about a general relaxation of standards and lack of enforcement. Here we go:

Now, then. My High Fives list this year is a strange one.

I find that, due to the gigs I tend to go to and the fact that the live music-loving population seems to be getting older on average; or at least those with the disposable to spend on it – you would think that venues would make every attempt not to kill off an ageing clientele for good business reasons quite apart from any moral or humanist imperative.

However, it does seem to me that some are running pretty fast and loose with significant health risks.

Here’s my High Fives for this year.

Glasses that are minging

Please, please, please – do not serve drinks in glasses which haven’t seen the dishwasher. I don’t want to see thumb prints on glass sides, beer going flat with grease within seconds of pouring, or grey, simply dirty glass conveying otherwise pristine beer. It is not the fault of the guy who had the glass before me that he had a burger with his pint – but I do not wish to share it with him, thank you. Alcohol can and does kill a lot of viruses BUT not all and not at the strength of a lot of ‘session’ beer and as for alcohol free for the poor Nominated Driver, a.k.a. Future Patient, well. This is not the sixteenth century, we do not have to drink alcohol to prevent ourselves from dying of some horrible waterborne infection but. Please. If I’m going to pay serious money to buy a drink, please make sure it is in a Clean Glass. It doesn’t seem too much to ask.

Glasses which aren’t glasses

A number of venues I have frequented recently are selling drinks in reusable plastic tumblers. This is an unavoidable fact of life to avoid injury from broken glass in all forms, either on the floor, flying through the air, brandished by a maniac, whatever it might happen to be. BUT. These receptacles are susceptible to getting scratched, especially if stacked twenty high when dirty and these then make them very difficult to wash properly so it is particularly important this happens so that the punter is not inadvertently poisoned by some lurgy-infected crevice in the plastic.

Plastic glasses which aren’t reusable, being re-used

One-use plastic is, rightly I feel, frowned upon now for very real environmental reasons as we slowly wake up to the thought of drowning in our own plastic waste. However, I have, on occasion and in certain live settings, seen what were clearly intended as one-use containers collected in for re-use. This is, frankly, horrible. The plastic of these things is very soft and will not stand up to reuse and ‘washing’. Gorges rise at the very thought. 

The Bogs

A frequent and recurring theme of mine. A great many venues, no names and no pack drill of course, make absolutely every effort to make sure the Facilities do not in themselves constitute a health hazard and we have, in the main, come a long way from balancing over a fetid latrine on a plank. BUT. There are those, all of whom will no doubt fervently deny this, particularly on a busy Saturday night, where things start off with the personal hygiene bar set at ‘Low’ and when the four-hourly inspection comes around, seem to open the door, observe the mayhem and carnage and say yep, ‘pretty much as it was’ in that the urinals are still overflowing and you can’t get a pee without complementary wet socks. 

PLEASE wash your hands

And it’s not all ‘their fault’. A completely unscientific, unofficial and uncorroborated survey found that around 40% of men at a gig do not wash their hands, you know, with actual soap and everything, after a trip to the ablutions. I have no figures relating to women and therefore would not assume anything. This is completely irresponsible and shows a total disregard for your fellow human beings. I don’t want to cringe every time I grab a metal handrail or put my hand on the edge of the bar. I’m tempted to excuse you if it is during the encore but no, the great pestilence has no respect for artistic merit or the set list.

And with all this in mind I wish you a happy, and healthy, New Year.

One of the many interesting things about the grass-roots scene is that new artists are constantly breaking through. We all like a bit of variety and Allan’s no exception whether it’s a new venue or a new artist. Here are some of the artists that he shot for the first time this year.

 I must admit that I would get really bored if I was just photographing the same people in the same venues every week, so it’s great to see new artists starting up, passing through on tour or moving to London; it keeps things fresh. Here are a few artists that I pointed my lens at for the first time this year.

Ophelia Ray

I saw Ophelia a few minutes before she went on stage at Water Rats as part of the support line-up for Vambo and knew that she was going to look interesting under stage lighting; I wasn’t wrong. The lighting in Water Rats can be a bit unpredictable so when you get the right combination you need to capture it quickly. What I didn’t know about Ophelia is that she’s also a model; that became obvious as she strutted her stuff through her set. This shot looked good as a monochrome, but the contrasting colours work well.

Ebony Buckle

I was invited along by Cat Hockley to a Rachael Sage gig at The Pheasantry on the King’s Road in Chelsea. Normally I’m with Elvis Costello on this one, but Rachael’s an interesting performer and it’s always good to catch up with Cat. The support was from Ebony Buckle; I spent the entire evening trying to work out where I’d seen her before. Was it at a gig or somewhere else. It was definitely somewhere else; when I checked online I discovered that she’d appeared in an episode of ‘Inspector George Gently’ as a folk singer, surprisingly enough. Here’s a shot from her set.

Rachel Croft

A perfect example of breaking my own photographic rules. This time it was the one about focussing on the eyes. 229 The Venue received a post-COVID grant and invested it in all the right areas, improving the sound system and general production values. This shot was taken while some new lighting gear (and a hazer) were being bedded in and the hazer was used a bit enthusiastically a few times. Cameras don’t really like a lot of haze (which is why Lightroom has a dehazer function) so you have to wait for it to settle before you can get a decent shot. Eventually the lighting on Rachel’s hair and a few wisps of haze combined perfectly.

Cali Rivlin

I got a Facebook message midweek to ask what I was doing on Friday night and fortunately the answer was nothing. Cali Rivlin was doing a gig at the Toulouse Lautrec Venue in deepest south-east London and I was going along to take a few shots. Cali’s a fabulous jazz singer and interpreter of songs and her performances are always really animated; there’s always something interesting to shoot. It was a cabaret setting where shooting angles were restricted but I managed to grab a lovely shot where everything just fits perfectly. Cali loved it as well.

Sunniva Bondesson

Ray Jones from Talentbanq saw Baskery play at Cambridge Folk Festival and decided that he had to book them for a London gig at 229. The band is 3 sisters, Stella, Sunniva and Greta, who all sing and play, respectively, upright bass, guitar and 6-string banjo/percussion combination. You can pick your description of their music from Nordicana, Swedish folk (with some dark elements) and rock. For most of the set, Stella and Sunniva managed to avoid decent lighting until Sunniva stepped forward to the front of the stage (which was perfectly lit) for her big guitar solo. After that it was just a question of picking the best shape.

Here’s a few more shots from Allan with a slightly different twist this time; none of them are live performance shots. We’ll let him explain.

I always like the challenge of doing something a little bit different; new artist, new venue, just change things up a bit. The shots featured below happened for a variety of reasons and the one thing they have in common is that they aren’t onstage shots. They’re all shot with available light and not really posed; it’s more about letting the artists arrange themselves and trying to capture the moment where it all works.

The Velveteen Orkestra @Pizza Express

This was a very, very impromptu shoot. I was packing away my gear after the gig and Dan asked if I could just do a few shots that they could use for promotion. He asked me where he wanted the band to sit and Sarah was already sitting under a downlighter where she was perfectly lit. The only thing I had to do was seat the band together and fire the shutter as they stared grinned and flicked the v’s. This is one of the two shots that I really liked from the shoot, because it captured something essential about all three characters.

Simba Jindu @The Camden Chapel

This was Saara Kaldma’s first headline gig. Simba has played drums alongside Saara in various line-ups, including Lisa Canny’s band and he’s great percussionist as well as being a genuinely lovely guy as well. When I shoot at The Camden Chapel, I always try to get a few soundcheck shots because the show lighting can be a bit under-powered; very atmospheric but challenging for available light photography. I tend to shoot low-key, high contrast stuff, but this shot works as a high-key shot, emphasising the optimism of Simba’s infectious smile.

KAT ‘Rise’ video shoot

Whenever I get a message from KAT inviting me along to a shoot I know it’s going to be interesting, whether it’s a gig or a video shoot. This was a video shoot for KAT’s song ‘Rise’ at a church in Hoxton where KAT played an angel. The lighting was a bit of a challenge, but I think we just about got away with it.

Belle Roscoe@Pizza Express

Another impromptu Pizza Express shot, this time in the famous Green Room. Julia Gurry popped her head round the door of the Green Room and asked me if I would take a few shots. As younger brother Matty will tell you, that’s not really a request, it’s a summons. Anyway, the light’s pretty good, so I was happy to have a go and I think the result was pretty good. It was a rush job that I missed the fact that the toilet door was open and you can just see the toilet bowl. You can also see that Brother Strut have left their mark – I included that deliberately.

Morganway@Green Note

The Green Note gig that sold out without any artists being announced. It was billed as ‘The Road to Madison Square Gardens’ (the one in New York and not the proposed monstrosity in Stratford) and it was Morganway supported by Isabella Coulstock. Kari Jones (the sensible side of the Jones partnership) wanted a few shots with Morganway, then we moved on to shooting the band on Parkway outside Green Note. I liked the city backdrop of Camden Parkway and the band always look great.

Time for a few more gig photos from Allan and there’s still some more in the pipeline. Over to Allan for a brief introduction.

When I’m shooting gigs, my natural tendency is to try to get a portrait-like quality in the shots, to try to capture a moment, whether it’s animation or tranquility, that captures something of nature of the artist. Sometimes it’s an effort of will to take the wider view and capture something that says rock’n’roll and electric guitars playing way up loud I saw more bands than usual this year, in bigger venues, so here’s a tribute to the founders of the electric guitar tradition, Leo Fender and Les Paul.

Amber T

Amber T has been singing live since she was eight years old and started to release music when she was fifteen. She has a phenomenal voice, has been praised by Elton John and she’s sung live at Carrow Road before the Norwich and Stoke City game in September 2023. Not a bad cv even before you get to all of the single releases. Her singles are big productions but she can do the gentle acoustic guitar stuff as well. This shot was from her self-curated Galentine’s Night (I think that’s self-explanatory) at The Camden Club this year:

Nia Heart

If you want to hear grungy, loud guitar music, then the Hope and Anchor’s not a bad place to be. It’s full of echoes of bands that have played there over the last fifty years. Nia Heart came over from Cardiff to play her first ever band gig and, while it wasn’t slick and perfect, she played her set with a huge amount of energy and attack as this photo shows. I’m hoping for another chance to shoot them soon:

Emily Capell

The first time I photographed Emily was at The Isle of Wight Festival in 2017. It was obvious she was a highly individual talent with musical influences ranging from doo-wop to punk and a visual style influenced by either the B52s or the sixties stylings they adopted. It all adds to the eclecticism of her performance. Emily’s very engaging on and off stage and she was an inspired opening act for Stone Foundation at the end of their 25th anniversary tour at Islington Assembly Hall. She gained a few fans over those two nights and was really nice about some of my photos. I’ll take that any time:

Sam Sharawi

My subconscious must have been working overtime when I compiled these shots because I first saw Sam at The Isle of Wight in 2017 when he was playing bass with Elle Exxe’s band. Since then, our paths have crossed and recrossed. The strangest was when he was playing with Belle Roscoe on a narrowboat in Hackney Wick at the start of a guerilla canal tour. When I see him at gigs now, it’s never a surprise. Earlier this year, he was playing bass for Levina at Water Rats. Getting good bass player shots can be a challenge because of the length of the neck (on the bass, not the player). Sam helpfully plays with the bass neck angled up to make the framing easier. He’s that kind of guy:

Beth McCarthy

This was shot at a gig where Beth supported Natalie Shay at Omeara in March. She’s a natural performer who keeps photographers on their toes as she moves constantly around the stage. She throws some fabulous shapes but you have to catch them quickly before zooms into the next one and the next one as her lyrics explore her evolving sexuality. Everything moves very quickly so you have to be on the ball and keep the shutter firing so you don’t miss anything:

 It’s time we used the High Fives to recognise some of the people who work incredibly hard to support independent and unsigned artists. In a business where the highest levels have a “dog-eat-dog” mentality, you might be surprised to discover that at grassroots level the approach is much more cooperative and collaborative. All of the people mentioned below have collaborated with others listed and rather than mention this in the individual pieces, we’ll say now that they’re all lovely people and great to work with. Over to Allan for some background. As ever, they’re in no particular order:

Tony Moore

You may have heard the name if you’re a bit of a rock historian; you may not. Tony played keyboards in the original Iron Maiden before they decided they weren’t a keyboard band before taking up a similar role in Cutting Crew in the mid-eighties. He’s been involved in club management and promotion, first at The Kashmir Club and, for the last twenty years at The Bedford in Balham. For the last two years he’s also been programming music at the new Camden Club in Chalk Farm. He’s a champion of new music and he’s still playing live and recording after forty-five years in the business.

Lorraine Solomons

Lorraine’s been a fixture and inspiration on the live scene in London and elsewhere for years now and she’s passionate about introducing new artists to the public. At her Success Express showcases across London, she always tries to introduce a couple of artists at each event that she hasn’t worked with before and has brought artists from all over the UK and the United States to London gig-goers. Her enthusiasm for her vocation is legendary.

Saskia Griffiths-Moore

She isn’t a promoter as such, but Saskia is a singer-songwriter with a beautiful voice who ounded the organisation Talent is Timeless which was set up to give exposure to songwriters over the age of fifty. Saskia has given freely of her time and organisational abilities to set up live events, organise merchandise, set up the annual competition including organising judges, and setting up recording sessions for the winners at Abbey Road studios. She’s energetic yet laid-back enough to deal with the inevitable frustrations that come with event organisation. She’s always fun to work with.

Ray Jones

Ray Jones, CEO of Talentbanq, has also been involved with the London music scene for years now. In his previous position as Development Director at Time Out, Ray took responsibility for the magazine’s Rising Stars live showcases. In August 2017 left to join the board of Talentbanq alongside Pablo Ettinger and Lord Mervyn Davies. Talentbanq was set up to promote new talent and to ensure that everyone involved in live production (including technical staff) received a fair fee for their services. The company has gone from strength to strength and celebrates its sixth birthday in January 2024. Ray’s very hands-on in his approach and ensures that artists and audiences have a great experience at every Talentbanq gig. It’s very much a team effort at Talentbanq and it’s only fair to mention the rest of the team who are James Gamble, Natalie Brundle and Tayah Etienne.

Ian Douglas Forteau

Ian was involved in various aspects of the music business before setting up So Live Sessions in 2018 with similar aims to Tony, Ray and Lorraine. Ian has the same aims the other promoters and seems to find some very different locations for his gigs, featuring a huge range of musical styles. It’s because of one of Ian’s showcases in Dalston that I met up with the wonderfully talented Amy Taylor who I’ve shot many times now. Here’s an interesting fact for you. Ian attended the same school as Ray jones, although not at the same time.

Some more of Allan’s favourite photos from 2023 and he’s still keeping up the idea of some novel thematic links. We’ll leave it to him to explain:

Looking through the 2023 archive there are a few venues that turn up regularly; one of them is the award-winning Green Note in Camden. Artists love to play there, not because it’s a huge venue; there are plenty of those around in London and Green Note has a capacity that doesn’t reach three figures. The reason artists like it is that it’s what Americans call a listening room, where audiences want to hear the music and they show their respect for the artists by not talking during performances. Here’s my five choices, all from Talentbanq nights, in chronological order:

Saara Kaldma

The title of the night was ‘BV’s Up Front’ and featured sets from Saara Kaldma and Gertrud Aasaroht. I’ve seen Saara and Gertrud many times as backing vocalists with Lisa Canny. They do a fabulous job with Lisa and, like most backing vocalists, have fabulous voices. Saara demonstrated the effectiveness of “lead singer lighting” as she waited for her vocal cue:

Kieran Morgan

This gig was billed as ‘The Road to Madison Square Garden’. No artists were announced, but the event still sold out in advance. The featured artists were Isabella Coulstock who, among other things, has been touring with Jools Holland, and the mighty Morganway. I’ve shot Morganway a few times and my best shots are usually of singer SJ and fiddle player Nicky because they’re always at the front. This is Green Note; everyone’s at the front, so I managed to grab this nice shot of Keiran Morgan:

Maddie Hamilton

Maddie’s a cellist who often plays in Eleni Skarpari’s fluid collective Echo Wants her Voice Back. I’ve shot Eleni loads of times and Maddie’s been at a few of those gigs but I’ve never quite managed to get the killer shot. I spoke to the band at soundcheck and rashly promised Maddie that I would get a really nice shot of her this time. The gig photographer gods were on my side this time; as she looked over and made eye contact wit Eleni, a wisp of hair fell over her face and some colour from her tattoos was exposed. Done.

Pete Gow

Pete’s a really interesting guy. He’s originally from Scotland (he gets bonus points for that) and he’s a friend and former bandmate of guitar-slinger extraordinaire, Jim Maving (more bonus points). Pete’s songwriting is packed with characters that are contemporary Brits written by Raymond Chandler or Damon Runyon and he’s partial to a bit of a rummage around in the murkier ends of relationships and the music business (even more bonus points). He’s left-handed, which forces you to think all over again about shooting angles and he has a very interesting and photogenic look. And he’s a good bloke (thanks for the album, Pete). You decide:

Sophey Maye

I only met Sophey for the first time a few weeks ago at Kylie’s Kiwi Christmas, hosted by Kylie Price before going back to New Zealand for Christmas. Sophey’s a Kiwi, like Kylie, and we spent a while chatting before the gig. It was obvious from her level of animation that she was going to be a perfect subject to shoot. I also loved her songs and her voice. She positioned herself in the Green Note portrait lighting sweet spot and it was just a question of framing and waiting for the moment:

Here’s another set of photos from Allan and he’s been putting a bit of effort in on his themes. None of the usual male or female artists, black and white or monochrome, he’s been a bit more creative with his categories. You have to keep the mind occupied when you’re getting on a bit.

If I’m working really close to an artist (and I usually am), then I’ll often set the focus point on the camera on one of the eyes. The old saying, attributed to many people over the years that the eyes are the window of the soul is particularly true of performers; you can feel the intensity lasering towards you. There are many singers who close their eyes while singing; you won’t find them in this set of photos.

HUX

I like HUX a lot. He’s a great singer-songwriter with a beautiful voice and he’s become a great collaborator as well. I saw him a few times as a solo performer who could stop audiences in their tracks, then as a harmony vocalist with Say Anise (yeah, it’s a small world) and then also playing bass with Say Anise as well as singing harmonies. As well as all of this, he has an incredibly striking visual presence:

Dan Shears (The Velveteen Orkestra)

I’ve worked a lot with Dan since shooting him at a John Lennon birthday tribute at the Hard Rock Hotel in Marble Arch. The Velveteen Orkestra is his project with long-term collaborator Sarah Boughton and a revolving cast of supporting musicians creating a unique blend of music that has been described “a ragged-trousered rock and roll orchestra” although there are elements of Eastern European music and louche 1930s Weimar cabaret in there as well. Dan’s a really engaging guy with an earthy sense of humour which breaks out on stage between songs as a contrast to the intensity of his performance. This is one of the intense bits:

Ernie McKone (bass player with Matt Johnson from Jamiroquai)

There’s not a lot to say about this shot. Ernie’s a great bass player and the lighting in The Jazz Café was challenging. When I finally found a break in the tsunami of hazer, I saw Ernie looking directly at me. One shutter press and done. The blue lighting gives it a kind of jazz feel. And, apologies to Matt Johnson, but this was by far the best shot I got on the night:

Kiara Chettri

This was the second time I had seen Kiara and the first time with her full band. She can belt out rockers with the best of them but she also excels on the slower, more challenging songs. In this shot, taken downstairs at 229 The Venue, she’s looking towards her incredible guitar player Kiuzano in one of those band interactions that you manage to capture sometimes:

Lisa Canny

What can I say about Lisa Canny? She’s non-stop, she’s funny, she has a fabulous voice, she plays harp and banjo to an incredibly high standard and she’s completely committed to her musical vision of blending traditional Irish music with more progressive elements like pop and rap. It hasn’t always made her popular on the traditional Irish scene but that’s not going to stop her; she’s a woman on a mission. I’ve shot Lisa loads of times and I always get something different and it’s always intense. This was shot at The Dublin Castle in Camden:

We’ve reviewed a couple of singles and an album by James Combs over the last two years and this year’s single was a really interesting one. It was a love song with a difference and you can read all about it at the end of this piece. We were pleased that he agreed to share some of his musical highlights of 2023 with us.

Seeing Sierra Ferrell live at the LA Folk Festival at the Ford Theater

 I agree with the music critics who call Sierra a “generational artist.”  She is like a mountain-music Amy Winehouse, to my mind – a wild-child pure artist with an otherworldly gift.  I have been a fan since the moment I heard her debut album but wasn’t able to hear her live until this October.  The Milk Carton Kids introduced her by saying “you are about to get your mind blown.”  They weren’t wrong. 

Playing the Houdini Mansion in Laurel Canyon

Photo by Arielle Silver

I got to play a concert at the Houdini mansion in Laurel Canyon this summer and it is a wild place.  Sculptures of levitating women, vintage magic posters, the grand pool where Harry practiced his escape act, and a great lawn that is perfect for music performance.  A fun and crazy night. Here’s are a couple photos of me with my harmony singing partner Erin Hawkins from the evening.

Photo by Arielle Silver

Playing Topanga Days with half of I See Hawks in LA as my band

Photo by Edward Romero

My birthday afternoon music bash then hearing Pixies at the Hollywood Bowl

It’s just a gift to be able to play music for the people you love most and they were all there on our patio for my birthday house concert in September – here are some excerpts:

 And if that wasn’t enough, Pixies, Cat Power and Modest Mouse played the Hollywood Bowl around the corner from us that very night and our friends treated us to box seats.  I had almost forgotten how much I love Pixies.  They knocked everyone’s socks off – a band who has completely invented their own rock n roll language.  A grand and perfect day of music.

Releasing my collaborative single with The Well Pennies, “High Pine Steeples”!

This year was mostly about performing live and recording for me, but I did release my single “High Pine Steeples”, made in collaboration with another of my favorite bands, The Well Pennies.  I spent a few days visiting them and recording in their Golden Bear Studios in Des Moines and we released this love song to redwood trees in May to lots of airplay here in the US and in the UK.  I loved singing harmony with Bryan and Sarah Vanderpool, who are both incredible arrangers and singers.  I really just played them my song and let them have at it.  And they, being them, brought the magic and turned it into a cavernous, lush, harmony rich affair, worthy of the trees.  Hear it here: